For people who are really, really sick of having their bike stolen (or ‘ganked’ as this crime is called in Britain).

FYI: The blog post below is from June 2016 when the City of Lake Worth, now called Lake Worth Beach, was going through a particularly bad time with bike thefts. In response the City Commission and PBSO came up with new ordinances and went about putting together a successful public relations campaign.

Yes, bike theft was a very big deal. But so was getting people to lock up their bikes! People reporting their bikes stolen was skewing the crime rate which City Manager Michael Bornstein pointed out often. Bike locks work. If you use a good one and know how to use it.

Anyhow, here is one idea that thankfully, in retrospect, never shot off here in this City. And momentarily you’ll find out why.


The excerpt below is from an article in CityLab. If this item becomes available locally, like at my bike shop Relentless Bicycles downtown, it won’t be a secret for long. Fire in the hole!

Our PBSO Cpt. Baer’s thoughts on this idea would be interesting to hear. Deputies on patrol can ride around and just listen for the explosions and race to the scene.

Take note of the link in the first paragraph below; this was a KickStarter campaign in case you’re interested (by the way, this is what the word “ganking” means):


     To prevent a thief from ganking your bike, you can try securing it with a U-lock or heavy-duty chain. Or, for fans of the bombastic approach, there’s now an alarm that detonates when disturbed, rousing the whole neighborhood with an echoing boom.
     The “Bike Mine” is the dastardly creation of London’s Yannick Read, a longtime bike-hacker who’s also made a cycle with a deafening train horn and another that shoots flames at motorists who get too close. The device consists of a bit of titanium wire, a spring-loaded trap, and a “saluting cartridge” typically shot off at military ceremonies and royal birthdays. It latches onto your frame with Velcro and, when somebody moves the bike, detonates in a 150-decibel cacophony of sparks and smoke, like so: